I've read that the path to anything worth achieving is anything but linear. That rings true for me. It hit me the other day that I've been at my current gig—copywriter at an online beauty & skin care store—for seven years. Seven freaking years. How is that possible? It means that as of this October (the 11th to be exact) my Tower career came to a jarringly abrupt end eight years ago. It still feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago simultaneously. Were it not for Tower, my life would be remarkably different. I'd still likely be a voracious reader, but I believe the personal connection to the book world would be missing. Would I have found my path to being a writer? Possibly, but then again, perhaps not. I really have no idea what I would have ended up doing instead. So how did I get here, to this writing life? To answer that question, I need to start with how I came to be a bookseller. So after eight long years, it finally feels like it's time to tell my version of the Tower Records/Books/Video saga; my Tower story. The more I talk with my compadres and see their various posts and comments, the more I realize how different it was for all of us—even those I worked most closely with. Tower was an amazing experience, but it unfolded differently for each and every one of us. I'll attempt to avoid being a revisionist; I'm well aware of the power of nostalgia to soften sharp edges and brighten sheen. What follows is my best recollection of how it happened for me...
The year was 1985. Springsteen and Michael Jackson dominated
the charts. There were no cell phones, a gallon of gas cost about $1.20 and the
internet was still years away from even being a fanciful what if. It was January, and I needed a job. My skill
set consisted of retail experience and little else. Most companies had just let
their holiday help go, or weren't looking to bring anyone else on board. What
to do...I'd shopped at the Tower stores on Macy Plaza Drive and two people I had
classes with at Sac State worked at the bookstore. One of them let me know they
were hiring if I was interested. Well why not, I reasoned, I like books. I had
no way of knowing that simple thought would introduce me to worlds I couldn't even imagine, make me part of the community of booksellers, bring me the people
who would become my extended family and truly change my life forever. So I
walked into store #323 at 7830 Macy Plaza drive in Citrus Heights to fill out
an application. A week later I came back as employee # 10836.
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